Robin Lehner hits first rough patch with Golden Knights

Robin Lehner absorbed a flash knockdown in the second period Sunday when he was felled by a rocket off the stick of Los Angeles’ Adrian Kempe.

The Golden Knights goaltender winced as he rotated his left shoulder to shake off the effects and took the mandatory eight count.

Lehner, who had offseason shoulder surgery, fought through the pain to stop 29 of the final 30 shots he faced and backstopped the Knights to a 4-3 victory over the Kings at T-Mobile Arena.

“I knew he tweaked it a little bit there during the game but not enough to come out,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “He battled through it and found a way to get us a win. We’ll get the medical report (Monday) and see how he is.”

But his health wasn’t the only cause for concern.

Despite the win, Lehner didn’t have his fastball for the third straight start and was victimized for a pair of goals in the first period that put the Knights in a hole they were fortunate to climb out of.

It’s the first time since Lehner was acquired by the Knights last season he’s endured a rough stretch of road.

While Lehner halted a personal two-game winless skid, his early struggles Sunday were cause for concern. The Kings scored on their first two shots, and Lehner was at least partly responsible each time.

Los Angeles center Anze Kopitar took a pass on the right wing and found room between Lehner’s right arm and body to open the scoring 36 seconds into the game.

Kempe put the Kings ahead 2-1 when he collected a pass entering the zone and fired a hopeful shot from the right faceoff circle. Knights defenseman Nic Hague may have slightly deflected the puck but it hit Lehner’s left armpit and slipped through on the short side.

Lehner allowed goals off the rush against Arizona’s Tyler Pitlick (Jan. 18) and Derick Brassard (Jan. 22) when he appeared to be slightly off his angle, and Kopitar’s opener had a similar look and feel.

The goal by Kempe was more alarming and came on the heels of a softy Lehner gave up in his previous start Jan. 26 when St. Louis’ David Perron fired a shot from the slot that trickled through on the short side.

In his past three starts, Lehner has allowed 11 goals after being beaten nine times in his first five appearances with the Knights. He has a 2.96 goals-against average and .890 save percentage in five games this season.

“He’s back there moving pucks for the D and we’re able to put it to our forwards’ hands as quick as possible and transition out of our own end,” defenseman Zach Whitecloud said. “When he moves the puck like that it makes our jobs easier and in turn makes the forwards’ jobs easier getting out of the zone. (Lehner) was huge tonight.”

Here are three more takeaways from the victory:

1. Man up, man down

The Knights’ special teams were the difference between a sweep and split of the two-game series.

The power play went 1-for-2 with five shots on goal, including Chandler Stephenson’s go-ahead goal early in the third period.

After starting out 1-for-17 with the man advantage, the Knights have a power-play goal in five of their past six games and are generating more sustained pressure.

Meanwhile, the penalty kill went 4-for-4, including late in the third period when the Knights didn’t allow a shot on goal short-handed.

The Knights are seventh in the league with a net penalty killing percentage of 87.1.

“(William Karlsson) and (Reilly Smith) are pretty fun to watch on the penalty kill there,” Stephenson said. “It’s almost even strength when those two are out there. It’s fun.”

2. Official first goal

Whitecloud scored twice during the postseason, but finally broke through in the regular season after 26 career games. And the goal looked a lot like his first career tally.

Whitecloud moved in from right point, and Cody Glass fired a cross-ice pass that found him at the back door. The defenseman snapped a shot past Kings goalie Calvin Petersen to tie the score in the first period 26 seconds after Los Angeles took the lead.

Whitecloud logged 21:51 of ice time against Los Angeles, second on the team behind Alec Martinez, and dished out four hits to go with the goal. But he didn’t keep the puck as a souvenir.

“I’m not sure if anyone grabbed it,” Whitecloud said. “But I have my one from the bubble, so it’s obviously nice to contribute to the win in whatever way that is. Obviously nice to score a goal, too.”

3. Banner raised

It took a sharp eye to notice, but there was an addition to the rafters at T-Mobile Arena during the series against the Kings.

A white 2019-20 Pacific Division champions banner was raised while the Knights’ season was paused for nine days in accordance with NHL COVID protocols.

The team didn’t hold a ceremony or wait until fans could be in attendance to hoist the banner. A division title is nice, but the Knights have a bigger prize in mind for that kind of thing.

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.